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Magnepan vs B&W: Same specs, different bass?

Hey everyone,

I recently acquired a set of Magnepan 3.7 speakers which are rated down to 35 Hz, and I've been comparing them to my B&W 803S speakers (also rated to 35 Hz).  While I enjoy the big sound and clarity of the Magnepans, the B&W's blow the Magnepans away in the bass department in an A-B comparison test.

I figured this would be the case, but I can't explain why there's such a big difference in bass when the speakers have the same specs.  Can anyone explain?

B&W 803S specs:
35Hz – 22kHz ±3dB

Magnepan 3.7 specs:
35Hz- 40 kHz

Thanks,
Chris
128x128cjwessing
don_c55
1,025 posts
 
I have owned and listened to the 6 foot Magnepans every day since 1977.

The .7 series designed under Mark, son of the founder Jim Winey, simply does not go as low in the bass as the previous 3 series.  That is my experience having heard the new .7 and .7i 6 footers in stores and in homes.

The .7 spec is a frequency range without any +/- dB listed.

The actual bass response is determined by the quality of the power amp, room setup and size of room.

The IIIa has the largest bass panel, and had a claimed spec of 32 to 40Kz +/- 4 dB.

I have heard all the 6 foot 3 series, and the IIIa goes noticeably lower than the others.

I have measured flat response down to 30 Hz with my IIIa, and 33 Hz with my 3.6 in various rooms.

I use the 3.6 in my living room and IIIa in my home theater currently.
 
williewonka
3,067 posts
 
As Kijanki said, speaker placement is responsible for the aparant differences you hear.

Maggie’s require lots of space compared to more conventional speaker types. The placement from the back wall and sidewalls is critical for optimal performance

Regards
mattmiller's avatar
mattmiller
1,479 posts
 
I agree with Kijanki and Williewonka, that its probably placement of the speakers in relation to the size of the room. Maggies can get low and punchy sounding when set up in the right room correctly.

Matt M
gdnrbob
4,409 posts
 
Besides placement, I wonder if the amp is having trouble with the low impedance? They are rated at 4 ohm, but I suspect they might dip lower.

OP, are you using tube or SS?
B
cjwessing's avatar
cjwessing OP
32 posts
 
Thanks for the input guys, sounds like everyone thinks with the similar specs they should perform similarly.  I thought maybe conventional woofers with more throw might have more punch than electrostatics or some other explanation like that.

I'll try moving the Maggie's around the room a bit to see if I can get more bass out of them, but it's such a big difference I doubt I'll be able to.  I'll try to take some measurements this weekend and post them.

I'm using a Levinson 433 amp rated at 400wpc at 4 ohms which should have plenty of power, right?  =)
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